CHRIS COLEMAN will no doubt have come away from Molineux on Tuesday night with a game plan in mind for tackling Wolves.

On the face of it the 3-0 victory over Cardiff City appeared to be pretty conclusive, but the reality was far from that as the Bluebirds dominated much of the play and got caught out by three perfectly timed attacks.

Coleman's watching brief will have confirmed that, although the three points reignited Wanderers' playoff hopes, they are far from a frightening proposition.

Coventry's centrebacks will need to be in top form to shackle Sylvain Ebanks-Blake, a big powerful centre-forward while Michael Kightly poses an energetic threat down the right.

Kightly has been greatly missed during his five months out with an ankle injury and is already showing signs that he is getting back to form after just two games back, while Matt Jarvis, their summer signing from Gillingham, is a hard-working performer down the opposite flank.

Up front, Andy Keogh, another high energy player, will partner Ebanks-Blake, who has now matched his 11-goal tally for Plymouth Argyle, while Sky Blue target Fredy Eastwood will be on the bench and likely to be thrown on late on.

The former Southend striker, who City thought they had signed on loan last month, has played just 38 minutes of first-team football from a possible 450 in the last five games since Wolves pulled the plug on the deal, and the resulting fall-out between the two clubs will no doubt add a bit of spice to the occasion, certainly behind the scenes if not publicly.

If City are looking for a chink in the armour they will probably identify veteran central defensive pairing Gary Breen and Jody Craddock. They may read the game well but are looking distinctly ponderous these days, and are there to be exploited by the pace of Michael Mifsud if he can get in behind without being caught offside.

And despite Wanderers' fans travelling in numbers, with some 5,000 expected, the consensus seems to be that they remain unconvinced by their team's form, and as such their positivity will be somewhat brittle going into the game.